


do like bunnies do

by kishere



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:01:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22686658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kishere/pseuds/kishere
Summary: phil is stressed, like really stressed. and his nose won't stop twitching.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 11
Kudos: 19
Collections: Phandom Writers Discord 2020 Valentine's Day Gift Exchange





	do like bunnies do

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsmyusualphannie (itsmyusualweeb)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsmyusualweeb/gifts).



Phil could feel the headache growing behind the center of his forehead. It had been building for hours, the longer he stared at the maps on the computer, trying to figure out which cities in Asia would be the best to visit, feeling overwhelmed with the idea that so many people around the world would want to see him and Dan live  _ again _ . So even though he had been staring at the logistics for their tour for what felt like ten year, it had really only been four hours. This tour had to be stupendous, people were counting on them, and after the success of The Amazing Tour is Not on Fire, this had to be just as good, no better, and they were traveling to so many new places and Dan wouldn’t stop panicking in the corner on the phone with Marianne and Phil was trying to hold it together and his nose wouldn't stop twitching and-

Everything was so big now, Phil thought as he looked around. His glasses had slipped off his nose which was twitching like crazy, and now everything was kind of blurry. Everywhere he looked, everything was a taller, blurier blob than he remembered it, which was impressive considering he was a giant. He couldn’t see over the TV and the couch felt like it was going to swallow him whole. Dan, who was already taller than Phil on a good day when he didn’t slouch, looked absolutely massive. It was weird. Phil hadn’t shrunk except-

Oh no.

_ Oh no _ .

This could not be happening right now, Phil thought as his nose started twitching even faster. This was not  _ holding it together _ . There was so much to do! They had so much to plan! They had to have this Asia leg of the trip mapped out today so they could start reaching out to venues. He must have let out some distressed squeaks, because Dan was staring at him with something akin to pity now which was just great. He heard Dan hang up the phone with a “Marianne, we have to call you back” as Dan walked over, sounding thunderous and loud to his sensitive ears. He saw Dan bend down in front of the couch and heard him start to speak quietly.

“Hey bud,” Dan started, his voice thankfully not doing the high pitched thing that would happen when he baby talked dogs. Phil was a rabbit (well, really a man who transformed into a rabbit), and some high pitched noises still spooked him even if he knew they were coming. Dan had gotten better over the years at keeping his voice lower but Phil could remember the times back in 2012 where Dan would move jerkily or his voice would come out too loud when Phil was in rabbit mode. “You feeling a little stressed?”

Phil hated it when people would ask him questions in rabbit mode, even if they were completely rhetorical. His mom used to do it all the time when he was little and turned, which kept him in that form for longer than necessary because Phil would be stressed that he didn’t know how to answer. It’s how people became under the impression the Lester’s just had a house rabbit that just roamed the house (of course, when Phil told the story to his followers, he gave himself a different name because that was more sane than trying to convince people he turned into a rabbit sometimes when the world was too much to handle). Phil was broken out of his train of thought by Dan gently lifting him up from the pile of clothes that he had left behind when he turned. He chittered in protest as Dan picked him up because they had so much to do.

“C’mon,” Dan said, his voice still soft and gentle as he got his arm under Phil’s body to support him. Dan had the best hands, Phil thought as Dan carried him to their bedroom, the lights off and the curtains shut by Dan so the harsh morning sunlight wouldn’t hurt Phil’s eyes. Dan stopped to turn the fairy lights on because they had discovered that Phil was sensitive to light sometimes, which wasn’t a rabbit thing as much as a Phil had migraines thing. The fairy lights painted the room a soft pink and purple color, making Phil glad they hadn’t opted for the boring white fairy lights that has felt like pin pricks against his eyes on his worst migraine days. “Let’s relax for a minute; we’ve been at this for three days straight. We’re a bit ahead of schedule anyway, we can take a nap, take a short rest.”

The implied “ _ you obviously need it _ ” made Phil want to burrow somewhere and hide for ages. Because how dare he be complaining when he had an out like  _ this _ . Curse his whichever ancestor tried to mess with a witch. 

Dan carefully held Phil against his chest as he put pillows against the side of the bed before setting Phil down on the bed. Dan climbed on to the bed afterwards and Phil hopped a little closer to Dan, making a chattering sound. He wanted to apologize to Dan, let him know how sorry he was for getting this stressed out at such an important time. Because Phil knew they weren’t that far ahead of schedule, far enough ahead to where they could take a nap and not have to scramble later. He let out another little chattering sound and bumped his head against Dan’s hand.

“So needy,” Dan said before reaching out gently running his thumb over Phil’s forehead a few times, keeping the pressure gentle. “Have I ever told you you’re actually a pretty rabbit? Like you have this soft brown color in your fur that looks like your roots before you dye them. Looks like the ginge was a phase bub.”

Phil felt himself relax the longer Dan continued to talk to him. His voice is one of Phil’s favorite sounds in the world, in any form (well, except the shrieking he does on the gaming channel), so hearing it natter on while in rabbit mode was soothing. Phil felt his nose start to twitch less and his ears were calm. Everything was going to be okay as he curled up near Dan’s neck and listened to Dan try to soothe him. Dan wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him, Phil could trust him. Dan continued to talk and Phil took the time to shut his eyes and not think too hard, especially because Dan was doing his best to reassure Phil everything was going to be fine.

“Phil, everything is going to be fine. I know it’s hard to imagine right now as we slog through all of the planning stages, but Phil, we’re going to get to see so many people. I know you like doing the meet and greets and we have one planned for every show...it’s so weird being the one to reassure you Mr. Positive,” Dan joked, accompanied by a soothing pet along Phil’s spine. “But just know everything is going to turn out fine. At least, that’s what my therapist tells me.”

Phil let out a happy chittering sound. Because he was proud of Dan for going to therapy and getting meds and just continually growing as a person. He was also happy because Dan was okay more days than not. Not that Phil loved him less on his bad days (he probably had a tendency to be a burden with how much affection he tried to show on those days), but knowing Dan felt  _ good _ was just...it took a lot off Phil’s mind. 

“Yes, yes I know, everyone is proud of me,” Dan said with a put upon sigh that didn’t match the smile on his face. This was a smile that wouldn’t have existed even six months ago when talking about therapy and Phil wished he could change back in order to poke at Derrick the Dimple. 

Dan spoke after a moment, like he was admitting a deep dark secret. His voice was quiet and he wouldn’t meet Phil’s eyes, the way he did when he wanted to brag about himself but his childhood told him to be humble. 

“...you know, I’m kind of proud of myself too. Because it’s nice knowing I’m getting better, y’know? Like I’m not perfect, no where close, but I’m so much better than I used to be. And I’m proud of that.”

Phil twitched his nose in agreement because he was so  _ so _ proud of Dan too. Phil felt himself go warm as Dan carefully tilted to his side to cuddle closer to Phil. Phil let out a squeak because Dan was covering him just a little too much and Dan loosened his hold on Phil easily. “Sorry mate, didn’t mean to squish you..”

They fell into a moment of silence, Dan and Phil just breathing together, even if it wasn’t Phil in the conventional sense of the word. But Dan was gently petting him until he stopped and Phil realized he was asleep. Phil nuzzled up closer against Dan and let his eyes flutter shut. It was pretty exhausting having your bone rearrange themselves suddenly and without warning, plus he still had a slight throbbing in his head from the headache. A short nap couldn’t hurt, Phil thought as sleep overcame his little body.

When Phil awoke a few hours later, he was pleased to find that he had fingers again. No twitching nose, no long ears that Dan said were softer than anything he ever felt, no body that felt okay but never close enough for him to have a real connection to it. Going into rabbit mode always felt like what Dan described his disassociating as; he was there, he was real, but not really. Plus the universe felt even bigger than it already did, which was a lot to take in when you were eight pounds of fur and bones.

“ _ Philip the Existential Rabbit. Move over Peter _ ,” Dan had joked one time when Phil told him about it and really, Phil was convinced that every existential thought he suppressed just manifested itself as the image of purity and innocence while on the inside he was screaming. Poetic of the universe. 

Phil turned on his side and found that Dan was still asleep. Phil slowly got off the bed and brushed his teeth before pulling on a pair of pants and crawling back into bed. Sometimes after changing, his body felt super sensitive to clothing but he also didn’t want to walk around completely nude either so this was a compromise between his comfort and his modesty. He must have been less careful climbing back into bed (or not as sneaky getting up as he thought) because he looked over to Dan blinking awake slowly.

“Hello,” Dan mumbled, reaching out and running a thumb against Phil’s cheek. Phil leaned into the touch until Dan’s whole hand was cupping his cheek. 

“Hi,” Phil whispered back, not wanting to make this moment pass too fast. 

“You feeling better?” Dan asked, pulling his hand away but keeping his arm open as an invitation.   
  
“I think so,” Phil replied, scooting closer to envelop Dan into a hug. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Of course Phil,” Dan replied, his voice soft. “You’d do the same for me if I changed into a rat.”

Phil let out an obnoxiously loud laugh for the mood of the conversation. “A rat? Really?”   
  
“Well what do you think I’d be?” Dan asked.

“A llama,” Phil replied without any hesitation or thought.

“Heyyyyy, that was my old branding,” Dan replied with a pout, rolling away from Phil, who rolled to follow him. “Stop being cute, you need to eat something or you’ll just get another headache. Don’t move, I’ll bring you something.”

“Yes mum,” Phil said with a fake put upon sigh, rolling over to search for his phone on the nightstand and came up empty. “Can you bring my phone in with you?”   
  
“No working,” Dan called back down the hallway of their flat. “We’re taking a day.”

“But Dan-,” Phil started to complain but realized with a huff that Dan was too far away to make having a discussion worth it. He laid back against the pillows on the bed and closed his eyes, waiting for Dan to return. He opened his eyes when he felt Dan trace a finger down the bridge of his nose while his other arm held some crisps and a glass of water. 

“We can’t take a day,” Phil started to argue until Dan cut him off.

“We can take a day because if we keep going it’s going to be Interactive Introvert and his Bunny Boyfriend,” Dan said, his tone saying it was final. 

Phil didn’t want to fight but he felt guilty about the unfinished work. “What will Marianne say?”   
  
“She’ll understand that you needed a day of rest since you caught a bug,” Dan said, sounding really sure of himself. “Now drink this while I give her a ring, okay?”   
  
Phil hesitated but ultimately nodded his head since his head was starting to hurt from the effects of changing back and forth so quickly. “Fine.”   
  
“Thank you,” Dan said, sounding relieved. He pressed a quick kiss to Phil’s forehead before leaving the room.

Phil barely made it a second after Dan turned out of the doorway before pouncing on the crisps and the water like a starving man. He felt better as he sucked the cheese dust off of his index finger a few minutes later. He laid down and closed his eyes again, this time drifting off easily before Dan could return, his nose not twitching anymore. 


End file.
